So Much For That “New Day” In The People’s House

After Last Week’s Embarrassing Fallout, Speaker Ryan Wants To Change The Rules To Protect Vulnerable GOP

Last week, Speaker Ryan’s leadership team held a vote open and twisted arms on the floor to kill an amendment that would have helped protect LGBT Americans who work for government contractors from discrimination. The coverage of that vote was less than flattering for House Republicans, especially for the vulnerable Republican incumbents whom Team Ryan successfully pressured into changing their votes. Here’s a sample:

News out of a closed door meeting today reveals that Speaker Paul Ryan is trying to avoid another such embarrassment on the House floor, which imperils his vulnerable incumbents back home and draws a direct line of connection between Donald Trump and House Republicans. Ryan is trying to change the rules:

“Speaker Paul Ryan is taking steps to bring greater order to the House floor after a Democrat-authored gay rights amendment caused chaos last week. Ryan told House Republicans Tuesday that in the future, such amendments will have to be printed ahead of time. Current rules can allow amendments to be written and voted on in real time when spending bills are up for debate. It’s a procedural change that could allow the GOP majority to better manage politically problematic votes.”

“Paul Ryan promised a more open floor process when he took over as Speaker, but clearly the risk is too high for House Republicans, given their backwards, discriminatory inclinations. Speaker Ryan is fooling himself if he thinks simply changing the rules will shield his Trump Ticket from further damage,” said Meredith Kelly of the DCCC.

#RyanRealityCheck

Speaker Paul Ryan took over the reins of the unruly House Republican Conference with lofty ambitions for a "Year of Ideas." Follow this space as we bring the Speaker back down to Earth, with the help of the House Freedom Caucus and the GOP presidential field.